Golf training device

ABSTRACT

A golf training device for use in a glove or under the ball of the foot or under the heel, which includes pressure sensors, a visual display which is flexibly connected to the sensors for adjusting the position to suit the wearer, and a controller programmed to provide visual feedback to indicate if the pressure is appropriate or not. For a glove the sensors are located on the palm at the junction with the first three fmgers. There are two or more sensors and for each sensor the controller can display by an appropriately coloured LED that the pressure detected by the sensor is too light, appropriate or too tight. For a shoe the sensors are located under the ball of the foot or the heel and the LEDs indicate whether the weight is appropriately on the ball of the foot or on the heel.

This invention relates to a golf training device for assisting golfersto improve their game.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

The idea of assisting golfers to apply the appropriate grip of the golfclub has previously been addressed.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,655,223 and 5,771,492 disclose golf training gloveswith a thumb sensor or a sensor from the back of the hand to the littlefinger with an audible signal to alert the wearer to an incorrect grip.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,201 discloses a sensing glove using pneumaticsensors and an accelerometer on the glove.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,442 discloses a training glove with a sensor on thethumb and emits an audible signal. The audible signal is not desirablefor a golfer as it can interfere with concentration.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,780,541 discloses a training glove with sensors alongthe middle, ring and index fingers. The electronics are disposed on thegolf glove Velcro closure flap. Having the sensors on the fingertips canstill mean that the club may be gripped incorrectly giving the golfer afalse set of information.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,033,925 discloses a training glove with sensors on thepalm and a controller which can define the settings for the sensor. LEDsare included in the electronics to indicate that settings have beenmade. The electronics are on the glove fastening flap and are coveredwhen the glove is fastened. The warning device is a vibrator.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,033,916 discloses a watch with a pressure sensitive backplate to measure grip pressure from the wrist tension.

USA patent application 2010093457 discloses a golf glove and clubcombination for training.

It is an object of this invention to provide a more reliable means ofsensing the correct grip or stance than the prior art and to provide amore intuitive feedback to adjust the grip until it is appropriate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

To this end the present invention provides a golf training device whichmay be used in a glove or under the ball of the foot or under the heel,the device incorporates one or more pressure sensors, a visual displaywhich is flexibly connected to the sensors for adjusting the position tosuit the wearer, and a controller programmed to provide visual feedbackto indicate if the grip pressure is appropriate.

This invention is predicated on the insight that the key problem withgolfers grip is applying the appropriate grip pressure rather than thegrip orientation. Also the golfer's stance is important in ensuring thegolfers weight is correctly positioned for the shot. The same device maybe used for both situations.

The uniqueness of this product is that it gives instant feedback duringthe swing preferably via 2 led lights preferably calibrated in 3 rangesbeing light, medium or maximum, and a colour for each being green,yellow and red. The green light signals that the correct grip or stancehas been achieved. The other unique aspect is the pressure sensor is aload based or pressure sensor and is not pneumatic.

Preferably when the sensors are positioned in a glove the pressure inthe little finger and the 3^(rd) finger can be detected individuallywhich helps the golfer and the coach isolate the problem in the golfgrip.

The final unique factor is that the golfer sees the LED light settingbefore and during the swing, which is important and not by viewing ascreen or app after the swing. For people who don't hold the clubproperly, this invention helps them to hold it properly as the lightsdon't come on unless the pressure passes a threshold value. When held inthe correct position the second problem is that people grip the club tootightly and this stops the club from being delivered with the correctface direction and hence causes errant shots. Tension is the mainproblem, so over gripping the club causes many problems and by applyingthe appropriate grip pressure the other problems may be correctedautomatically. Under gripping the club can also affect club facedirection, resulting in ball direction problems and so the idealpressure is also able to be taught. The glove is for training grippressure when putting, chipping, pitching and swinging the other clubs(irons and woods).

With the stance the weight is preferably on the ball of the foot and noton the heel. So a green light is used again to show the correct weightdistribution.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described withreference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a first embodiment sensor unit and displayused in this invention;

FIG. 2 is a view of the location of the unit shown in FIG. 1 with thesensors positioned in a glove adjacent the junction of the palm and thefingers;

FIG. 3 shows the position of a second embodiment of the sensor unitpositioned on the ball of the foot;

FIG. 4 shows the position of a second embodiment of the sensor unitpositioned on the heel of the foot;

FIG. 5 is a view of the back of a glove showing the electronics PCB andthe LED's on the glove fastening flap;

FIG. 6 is a view of a shoe showing the electronics PCB and the LED'spositioned on the laces of shoe;

FIG. 7 is a view of a shoe showing the electronics PCB and the LED'spositioned on the toe of shoe.

The preferred sensor unit as shown in FIG. 1 is a combination of LowLevel Antistatic Electrically Conductive Film (Velostat) and a flexiblePCB. The other alternative is using 2 FSR's (force sensing resistors).

The preferred sensor is built by using a combination of a layer offlexible PCB on top, then 1 layer of velostat, then another layer ofvelostat, then another flexible PCB, all enclosed in a fabric sleeve andthe sleeve 11 is then sewn onto the inside palm of the glove runningjust above the lifeline crease on the palm.

The electronic components are two sensors connected to a microcontroller which is programmed to provide power to the LEDs when thepressure signals from each sensor are above a threshold value, in adesired range, or above the desired range. For sensing foot pressure 4sensing points are preferably used.

The PCB also includes a battery and a USB and a charging LED indicator.

The glove 20 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 consists of a pocket 11 sewn onthe inside of the glove that houses the 2 sensors 12 which are placedstrategically so that when the glove wearer holds the club correctly the2 sensors detect a force which is converted into a signal to drive 2LEDs and programmed to show 3 levels of light emission. This enables thesensors to detect if both fingers are gripping with the correctpressure. With no pressure the LED is off. The 3 display levels areyellow (lightest grip) for chipping and putting, green for all otherclubs and red for too tight a grip. The 2 sensors 12 are positionedspecifically to pick up the pressure created by the first 3 fingerswhich form the grip and the position is also strategic in that if thegrip is wrong the lights won't work. This is a key advantage inassisting the player to change their grip. The visual feedback is alsovisible in the peripheral vision as well as direct, if looking in amirror.

The sensors 12 are connected to the circuit board in module 16 via anextension of the flexible PCB 14 which joins onto 4 electrical wireswhich run in the glove lining over to the top of the hand and around tothe back of the hand come out and join with the PCB holding theelectronics. This PCB is enclosed with a protective silicon housing 16.There is a charge USB port and a charging light to show when chargingand when fully charged.

The electronics and light display 17 are on a flexible lead 14 so it isable to be positioned on the thumb/back of hand region as shown in FIG.5, using a fastener such as velcro so that depending on the type ofswing and grip of the player, the light pressure indicators can bepositioned so that the player has a good visual line of sight orperipheral view when swinging. The advantage of this is that feedback isgiven to the player while swinging, unlike like prior art gloves andapplications, where the information is fed to a computer app and thenanalysed later. The light glove provides instant visual feedback so thatthe player may adjust the pressure while looking at the lights to seethat the correct pressure is being applied.

A further advantage of this glove embodiment is that information is alsogiven as to whether the grip position, and consequently the clubposition, is correct. If only one of the LED's is lit it means thatthere is no pressure on one of the sensors. The embodiment where LED'sare individually lit by one of the sensors is best used by a coach inteaching the correct grip. Once that has been taught the unit may beprogrammed to show the same colour on both LEDs.

This invention may also be used to sense whether the golfers weight iscorrectly positioned for a shot and during the shot. The same sensorunit as shown in FIG. 1 or a modified unit having 4 pressure sensors asshown in FIGS. 3 and 4 may be used. The sensor pad 11 is placed underthe ball of the foot as in FIG. 3 or under the heel as in FIG. 4. Theexact positioning can be adjusted for each user. The electronics module16 is placed in a visible position on the shoe. FIG. 6 shows itsupported on the laces and FIG. 7 shows it held by a Velcro pad on thetoe of the shoe. The controller is programmed differently when thedevice is used in a shoe so that green is shown for correct position andred for incorrect.

Each of the two lights can show

-   -   1. no colour for no pressure    -   2. red for slight pressure    -   3. yellow for medium pressure    -   4. green maximum foot pressure.

To use the sensing unit on the glove or in the shoe it needs to becharged and the switched on using a switch on the side of the module 16.

Usually the glove and shoe units are best utilised so that the gloveLED's are showing yellow for a light grip or green for a medium and theball of the foot sensor is showing green or maximum pressure.

Using the sensor under the heel will show what weight is being placed onthe heel. Depending on the coaching advice the sensors will provideguidance in placing the users weight in the correct position.

Those skilled in the art will realise that this invention provides atraining glove that provides more effective feedback for correcting thegolfers grip pressure.

Those skilled in the art will also realise that this invention may beimplemented in embodiments other than those described without departingfrom the core teaching of this invention.

1. A golf training device for use in a glove or under the ball of thefoot or under the heel, said device comprising one or more pressuresensors, a visual display which is flexibly connected to the sensors foradjusting the position to suit the wearer, and a controller programmedto provide visual feedback to indicate if the pressure is appropriate.2. A training device as claimed in claim 1 in which there are twosensors and for each sensor the controller can display by anappropriately coloured LED that the pressure detected by the sensor istoo light, appropriate or too high.
 3. A training device as claimed inclaim 1 in which the sensor is a combination of Low Level AntistaticElectrically Conductive Film and a flexible PCB.
 4. A training device asclaimed in claim 2 wherein two force sensing resistors are used.
 5. Agolf training glove incorporating a device as claimed in claim 1 inwhich the sensors are located on the palm at the junction with the firstthree fingers and the display is located on the back of the glove.
 6. Agolf training glove as claimed in claim 5 in which the lights showyellow for a light grip, green for a medium grip and red for too tight agrip.
 7. A golf shoe incorporating a device as claimed in claim 1 inwhich the sensors are located under the ball of the foot and/or the heeland the display is located on the shoe upper.
 8. A golf shoe as claimedin claim 7 in which the lights show red for low pressure, yellow for amedium pressure and green for maximum pressure.